Accessories: 10 / 10

Articulation: 9 / 10

Packaging: 10 / 10

Sculpting: 10 / 10

Paint: 10 / 10

Value: 10 / 10

Being billed as the most detailed Yautja to date, NECA’s Bad Blood Predator promises to be the best of the bunch. The sculpt is simply fantastic. Fans of the comic series will know that this Predator is different from the rest of the bunch. He has no honour, no code, and he kills because he lusts for blood.

Bad Blood Predator does not wear a mask and NECA has filled his head sculpt with intricate detail just to show us how special he is. His head sculpt has his mandible wide open and it shows just how blood thirsty this predator is. He looks enraged as he has red pupils which give off a great contrast to the black skin around his eyes. The paint applications on his head alone boast more variety than most of the other NECA predators. He has the red insignia on his forehead, dark dots on his face that also work well at contrasting with his yellow and orange looking skin. He has dark dreadlocks with lots of gold hairclips. He even has a gold eyebrow ring. But it has to be the wide spread mandibles and the amount of detail in them that really takes the cake!

Unlike the other predators, he is not equipped with advanced technology and weapons. Yes, there is no plasma rifle, but what you get is so much more. On the one shoulder you have a spinal column which he is using as armour and on the other shoulder you have the skull of another Predator. This skull is amazingly detailed and it shows that this Predator is not afraid to kill his own kind. His body is covered with the traditional fishnets but his colour is unique he is a light yellow mixed with orange and the paint job looks amazing. His torso does not have much protection and padding on it all, but it is covered in blood and the blood trail runs all the way to the claw on his gauntlet.

He also has a golden nipple ring – kind of weird as he has no nipples, so it looks like a lost little golden circle. His back is fully covered in armour to prevent any close quarter stealth attacks. This armour looks excellent and boasts some great panelling with golden and silver paint applications for added detail. His biceps are not covered in armour. However his gauntlets look great. They look bulky and heavy in detail featuring more spinal columns being used as armour and a three bladed claw drenched in blood.

His groin and gluteus are protected by a light armour loincloth so he can move with more agility. The black pads over his thigh and his glaive pouch have a high gloss finish, making him look reptilian. It also looks like he is using Xenomorph skin to make his garments. His knees have two skulls being used as knee pads. These skulls are from a different alien race. His got armour running along his shin and the armour also has spinal columns attached to it. He is barefoot. His feet are highly detailed and follow the painting scheme. So, overall this is a work of art that deserves the deluxe figure title!

Articulation. He is an agile alien, so he definitely needs some great articulation to pull off some epic poses. He has a ball joint head with some great articulation. He has ball joints at the shoulder they work well but are a little hindered thanks to the epic shoulder pads. He has ball joints at the elbow which really work well, so does his wrist swivel. He has a swivel at the waist and ball jointed hips which allow for great fly kicks and poses. His upper thigh swivels and this works well with his double jointed knees which are subtle thanks to the awesome skull kneepads. His ankles swivel and the foot can lift up and down with ease. So this great Predator has some great articulation.

He also has a wealth of accessories which just exemplify his brutal nature. He has a bloodied blade that has been sculpted to look like a bone, a highly detailed spear which shows that he does not rely on technology. He has two alien skull trophies which can be attached at the hip. He also has a random dreadlock so it looks like he has pulled a dread out of his Yautja prey. You also get an extra hand which has been sculpted to hold his sword and then he has the accessories that made me say. “I want this!” You get two brutally severed heads which can be attached to his hip as well. These faces on these heads have that comical exaggeration of despair. Then if you flip them around you can see sliced brains and throats as the level of detail is just that good!

The packaging is also excellent and sets this figure apart from the rest of the NECA Predators line. You have a brightly coloured comic ink looking box but if you look clse enough you will notice some excellent foiling. The eyebrow ring on the image is actual gold foil and there is more gold behind the figure in the backing box as well. Then the Predator logo is done in a metallic red. The back of the box lets us see the character representation from the comic pages that it originates from; you are given a brief bio on this specific predator and this is done in comic font. You also get to see a few product images from the other Predators in the latest wave.

It took me a while to find my perfect NECA Predator and I truly believe that this is it. This figure lives up to the hype and is worth every extra cent that you have to pay. Being a fan of the Classic Predator for years, I have to finally admit that the Bad Blood Predator is the best looking Yautja to date. A big thanks to Hennie and Marco. Visit www.crittersandcomics.co.za for more exclusives like this!